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Linda Freeman papers

Creator:
Freeman, Linda, 1941-  Search this
Names:
L & S Video, Inc.  Search this
Bearden, Romare, 1911-1988  Search this
Lawrence, Jacob, 1917-2000  Search this
Pindell, Howardena, 1943-  Search this
Pippin, Horace, 1888-1946  Search this
Extent:
32.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Interviews
Moving images
Documentary films
Date:
1971-2015
bulk 1990-2011
Summary:
The papers of multimedia artist and filmmaker Linda Freeman measure 32.9 linear feet and date from 1971-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1990-2011. The collection primarily consists of the production archives of Freeman's video documentary production company L and S Video, producer of 27 short subject documentaries on contemporary American art and artists. Subjects include Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Charles Burchfield, Elizabeth Catlett, Chuck Close, Robert Colescott, Jimmy and Max Ernst, Red Grooms, Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Howardena Pindell, Horace Pippin, Faith Ringgold, and Betye and Alison Saar. Additional documentaries on subjects other than single artists include works on Luba artists of Central Africa, the creative process (on Freeman and five other artists featured in other documentaries in the collection), mixed media artists (on Alvin Loving, Flo Oy Wong, and Alison Saar), self-taught artists (on William Hawkins, Bill Traylor, and Grandma Moses), and a six-part series on art subjects for children called I Can Fly.
Scope and Contents:
The papers of multimedia artist and filmmaker Linda Freeman measure 32.9 linear feet and date from 1971-2015, with the bulk of the material dating from 1990-2011. The collection primarily consists of the production archives of Freeman's video documentary production company L and S Video, producer of 27 short subject documentaries on contemporary American art and artists. Subjects include Emma Amos, Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Charles Burchfield, Elizabeth Catlett, Chuck Close, Robert Colescott, Jimmy and Max Ernst, Red Grooms, Jacob Lawrence, Richard Mayhew, Howardena Pindell, Horace Pippin, Faith Ringgold, and Betye and Alison Saar. Additional documentaries on subjects other than single artists include works on Luba artists of Central Africa, the creative process (on Freeman and five other artists featured in other documentaries in the collection), mixed media artists (on Alvin Loving, Flo Oy Wong, and Alison Saar), self-taught artists (on William Hawkins, Bill Traylor, and Grandma Moses), and a six-part series on art subjects for children called I Can Fly.

For each documentary, original, unedited footage shot by Freeman of artist interviews, studio footage, and interviews with subject experts is found, featuring curators, gallerists, collectors, and art historians speaking about the documentary subjects. In almost every case, significant original footage is found that was not used in the finished documentary and therefore unique to this collection, especially in the form of original interviews and studio footage.

Footage obtained from third-parties for use in the documentaries is found for several works including the Red Grooms, Luba, Crown Heights, and Romare Bearden documentaries. Notable among third-party material is a copy of Howardena Pindell's video performance work "Free, White, and 21" (1980). Also found are original footage and master material for "Pit Stop," a short fiction film by Robert Colescott, produced by Linda Freeman.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged as 25 series, with most series representing the records of a single documentary production. Order of series is alphabetical by subject's last name, followed by titles for non-biographical works.

Media within series are typically grouped into three subseries: one for original, unedited footage and transcripts; one for production material, including media artifacts from intermediate stages of production and paper records of the production such as notes and drafts; and finally one for finished documentaries. Footage obtained from third-party sources is arranged with production material. Smaller series are arranged similarly but without formal subseries.

Audio and video tapes are housed separately from paper and digital records to facilitate access to both types of material. Also note that media are listed as items, which may be comprised of multiple tapes or single tapes, or multiple items on a single tape. As a result, physical folders may contain tapes from more than one item, and items can span multiple folders.

Series 1: Emma Amos: Action Lines (1996), 1991-2005 (1.3 linear feet; boxes 1-2, 28)

Series 2: Benny Andrews: The Visible Man (1996), 1991-2000 (1.2 linear feet; boxes 2, 28)

Series 3: Romare Bearden: Visual Jazz (1995), 1971-2000 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 3-4, 28, FC 34-36)

Series 4: Charles Burchfield's World (2004), 2004-2005 (0.3 linear feet; boxes 4, 28)

Series 5: Elizabeth Catlett: Sculpting the Truth (1998), 1998-2000 (1.3 linear feet; boxes 4-5, 28-29)

Series 6: Chuck Close: Close-up (2003), 2003-2006 (0.8 linear feet; boxes 6, 29)

Series 7: Robert Colescott: The One-Two Punch (1992), 1980-2005 (1.7 linear feet; boxes 6-8, 29, 33)

Series 8: "Pit Stop" by Robert Colescott (1995), 1995-1998 (1.1 linear feet; boxes 8, 29, FC 37-38)

Series 9: Jimmy and Max Ernst: Dada's Son (2005), 2005 (0.2 linear feet; boxes 8, 29)

Series 10: Red Grooms: Sculptopictoramatist (2008), 2008 (1.2 linear feet; boxes 9-10, 29)

Series 11: Jacob Lawrence: The Glory of Expression (1993), 1991-2007 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 10-11, 29, 32-33)

Series 12: Richard Mayhew: Spiritual Landscapes (2000), 1999-2000 (0.8 linear feet; boxes 11-12, 29)

Series 13: Howardena Pindell: Atomizing Art (1998), 1991-2005 (0.9 linear feet; boxes 12-13, 29)

Series 14: Horace Pippin: There Will Be Peace (1997), 1997-2000 (0.9 linear feet; boxes 13-14, 29-30)

Series 15: Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt (1992), 1990-2007 (1.9 linear feet; boxes 14-15, 30, 33)

Series 16: Faith Ringgold Paints Crown Heights (1994), 1994-2005 (2.5 linear feet; boxes 15-17, 30, 33)

Series 17: Betye and Alison Saar: Conjure Women of the Arts (1994), 1990-2005 (2.3 linear feet; boxes 17-19, 30, 33)

Series 18: African Art, Women, History: The Luba People of Central Africa (1998), 1990-2000 (1.0 linear feet; boxes 19-20, 30)

Series 19: The Creative Process: Artists At Work (2011), 2006-2011 (0.3 linear feet; boxes 20, 30)

Series 20: I Can Fly Series, 1999-2011 (3.8 linear feet; boxes 20-23, 31)

Series 21: Mixed Media Masters (2008), 1991-2008 (1.0 linear feet; boxes 24, 31)

Series 22: School's Out: Self-Taught Artists (2001), 1995-2001 (1.1 linear feet; boxes 24-25, 31)

Series 23: Women in Their Studios: Jennifer Bartlett and Jackie Winsor (2006), 2005-2006 (0.6 linear feet; boxes 25-26, 31)

Series 24: Other Projects, 1988-2015 (1.6 linear feet; boxes 26-27, 31-32)

Series 25: L and S Video Records, 1990-2008 (0.5 linear feet; boxes 27, 32)
Biographical / Historical:
Linda Freeman(1941- ) is a multimedia artist and filmmaker in New York, New York. Freeman manages L and S Video (established 1987), a company that creates, produces, and distributes documentaries about American Artists.

In a lecture by Freeman at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in October 2000, she describes how she received training in filmmaking at New York University, and set out to create documentaries about contemporary artists who were both widely recognized as important artists and had not yet been the subjects of documentaries. Her first subject was Faith Ringgold, who she approached in 1990 for what would become Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt. Freeman went on to produce 28 documentaries with director and writer David Irving featuring primarily living African American artists, but also women artists, self-taught artists, and mixed-media artists. The documentaries are based on extended interviews with the artists, studio footage of the artists working, and interviews with notable curators, dealers, critics, art historians, and other artists with expertise in the work and career of the subject at hand. Freeman included herself in the documentary The Creative Process: Artists at Work along with footage of other artists from her previous productions that had not been used in her finished works to date.

As an artist, Freeman has shown work in multiple traveling group exhibitions including "Women Call for Peace: Global Vistas," "Our Ancestors Quilt Project," "Women Only! In Their Studios," "Voices in Cloth: Story Quilts," and has had solo exhibitions at the Henry Gallery at Penn State Great Valley and SOHO20 gallery.
Provenance:
The collection was donated in 2015 by Linda Freeman, L and S Video.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Rights:
The donor has retained all intellectual property rights, including copyright, that she may own.
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Occupation:
Multimedia artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Filmmakers -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Topic:
Women artists  Search this
Women filmmakers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Interviews
Moving images
Documentary films
Unedited footage
Citation:
Linda Freeman papers, 1971-2015. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.freelind
See more items in:
Linda Freeman papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9c7fb8df0-ed52-4180-bcff-6da23941a3c0
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-freelind

Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972

Creator:
Cornell, Joseph  Search this
Subject:
Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this
Cornell, Robert  Search this
Type:
Photographs
Citation:
Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Topic:
Celebrities  Search this
Assemblage (Art)  Search this
Found objects (Art)  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Theme:
Diaries  Search this
Lives of artists  Search this
Record number:
(DSI-AAA_CollID)5790
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)208629
AAA_collcode_cornjose
Theme:
Diaries
Lives of artists
Data Source:
Archives of American Art
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:AAADCD_coll_208629
Online Media:

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy with Nobel Prize winners

Artist:
Arthur B. Rickerby, 15 Mar 1921 - 2 Aug 1972  Search this
Sitter:
Lyndon Baines Johnson, 27 Aug 1908 - 22 Jan 1973  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson, 22 Dec 1912 - 11 Jul 2007  Search this
Pearl S. Buck, 26 Jun 1892 - 6 Mar 1973  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 29 May 1917 - 22 Nov 1963  Search this
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, 28 Jul 1929 - 19 May 1994  Search this
Robert Lee Frost, 26 Mar 1874 - 29 Jan 1963  Search this
Medium:
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions:
Image/Sheet: 21.3 x 32.8cm (8 3/8 x 12 15/16")
Type:
Photograph
Place:
United States\District of Columbia\Washington
Date:
1962
Topic:
Interior  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Male  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Lecturer  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Professor\University  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Literature\Writer\Poet  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Pulitzer Prize  Search this
Robert Lee Frost: Congressional Gold Medal  Search this
Pearl S. Buck: Female  Search this
Pearl S. Buck: Literature\Writer  Search this
Pearl S. Buck: Literature\Writer\Novelist  Search this
Pearl S. Buck: Nobel Prize  Search this
Pearl S. Buck: Pulitzer Prize  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Male  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Literature\Writer  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\President of US  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\US Senator\Texas  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Texas  Search this
Lyndon Baines Johnson: Presidential Medal of Freedom  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Male  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Literature\Writer  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Politics and Government\US Congressman\Massachusetts  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Officer  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Politics and Government\President of US  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Politics and Government\US Senator\Massachusetts  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Pulitzer Prize  Search this
John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Presidential Medal of Freedom  Search this
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Female  Search this
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Literature\Editor  Search this
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: Society and Social Change\Historic preservationist  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Female  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\University administrator\University trustee  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Society and Social Change\Reformer\Environmentalist  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Politics and Government\First Lady\First Lady of US  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Business executive\Media industry executive\Radio executive  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Presidential Medal of Freedom  Search this
Lady Bird Johnson: Congressional Gold Medal  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.2005.27
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Arthur B. Rickerby
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm445afef22-b96d-4128-8473-8755fa283371
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2005.27

Wanted

Artist:
Philip Lief, born 22 May 1947  Search this
Marcel Feigel, born 20 Apr 1941  Search this
Sitter:
Richard Milhous Nixon, 9 Jan 1913 - 22 Apr 1994  Search this
Bernard Leon Barker, 17 Mar 1917 - 5 Jun 2009  Search this
Dwight Lee Chapin, born 1940  Search this
John Wesley Dean, III, born 14 Oct 1938  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman, 20 Mar 1925 - 14 Feb 1999  Search this
Virgilio Gonzales, born 1926  Search this
Harry Robbins Haldeman, 1926 - 1993  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr., 9 Oct 1918 - 23 Jan 2007  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach, 19 Oct 1921 - 15 Sep 2017  Search this
George Gordon Liddy, 30 Nov 1930 - 30 Mar 2021  Search this
James Walter McCord Jr., 26 Jan 1924 - 15 Jun 2017  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder, 5 Nov 1934 - 11 May 2014  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian, 23 Oct 1923 - 17 Jul 2006  Search this
Eugenio Martinez, 7 Jul 1922 - 30 Jan 2021  Search this
John Newton Mitchell, 15 Sep 1913 - 9 Nov 1988  Search this
Donald Henry Segretti, born 1941  Search this
Hugh Walter Sloan, Jr., born 1940  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans, 22 Mar 1908 - 14 Apr 1998  Search this
Frank A. Sturgis, 1924 - 1993  Search this
Medium:
Halftone poster
Dimensions:
Sheet: 73.7 × 58.3 cm (29 × 22 15/16")
Mount: 78.7 × 63.5 cm (31 × 25")
Type:
Print
Date:
c. 1973
Topic:
Poster  Search this
Symbols & Motifs\Flag\National\United States  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman: Male  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman: Literature\Writer  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
John Daniel Ehrlichman: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
John Newton Mitchell: Male  Search this
John Newton Mitchell: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\US Attorney General  Search this
John Newton Mitchell: Politics and Government\Campaign director  Search this
John Wesley Dean, III: Male  Search this
John Wesley Dean, III: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
John Wesley Dean, III: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
John Wesley Dean, III: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
Harry Robbins Haldeman: Male  Search this
Harry Robbins Haldeman: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Harry Robbins Haldeman: Politics and Government\Chief of Staff  Search this
Harry Robbins Haldeman: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
James Walter McCord Jr.: Male  Search this
James Walter McCord Jr.: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
James Walter McCord Jr.: Military and Intelligence\Air Force\Officer  Search this
James Walter McCord Jr.: Military and Intelligence\Intelligence agent\CIA officer  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder: Male  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder: Literature\Writer  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Jeb Stuart Magruder: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Male  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Journalism and Media\Journalist\Columnist  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Politics and Government\Cabinet member\Secretary of Commerce  Search this
Maurice Hubert Stans: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Accountant  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Male  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Literature\Writer  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Politics and Government\Vice-President of US  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Military and Intelligence\Navy\Officer  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Politics and Government\President of US  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Politics and Government\US Senator\California  Search this
Richard Milhous Nixon: Politics and Government\US Congressman\California  Search this
Bernard Leon Barker: Male  Search this
Bernard Leon Barker: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this
Bernard Leon Barker: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Bernard Leon Barker: Military and Intelligence\Intelligence agent  Search this
Dwight Lee Chapin: Male  Search this
Dwight Lee Chapin: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Dwight Lee Chapin: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
Virgilio Gonzales: Male  Search this
Virgilio Gonzales: Crafts and Trades\Metalworker\Locksmith  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr.: Male  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr.: Literature\Writer\Novelist  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr.: Literature\Writer\Screenwriter  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr.: Business and Finance\Businessperson\Business executive\Public relations executive  Search this
Everette Howard Hunt, Jr.: Military and Intelligence\Intelligence agent  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach: Male  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach: Business and Finance\Banking and Finance\Banker  Search this
Herbert Warren Kalmbach: Society and Social Change\Philanthropist  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Male  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Politics and Government\Government official  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor  Search this
George Gordon Liddy: Law and Crime\FBI agent  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian: Male  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian: Politics and Government\Government official  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian: Education and Scholarship\Administrator\Board of Education  Search this
Robert Charles Mardian: Politics and Government\Assistant Attorney General  Search this
Eugenio Martinez: Male  Search this
Eugenio Martinez: Business and Finance\Businessperson  Search this
Eugenio Martinez: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Donald Henry Segretti: Male  Search this
Donald Henry Segretti: Law and Crime\Lawyer  Search this
Donald Henry Segretti: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Donald Henry Segretti: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
Hugh Walter Sloan, Jr.: Male  Search this
Hugh Walter Sloan, Jr.: Politics and Government\Government official\Presidential Aide  Search this
Frank A. Sturgis: Male  Search this
Frank A. Sturgis: Law and Crime\Criminal  Search this
Frank A. Sturgis: Military and Intelligence\Intelligence agent  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
S/NPG.93.53
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4122c52c4-5bab-415a-96c5-9f31a9db77cc
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_S_NPG.93.53

April 22, 1960 Miss Marsha Pippin [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Names:
Pippin, Marsha  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 72
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1960
Scope and Contents:
No ink on negative. Full-length portrait of Miss Marsha Pippin in a swimsuit. "KODAK--SAFETY--FILM" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Bathing suits  Search this
Models (Persons)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep873b09463-213c-47e7-b5ba-e4a9829569bd
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref2345
Online Media:

Mr. Raymond T. Beacham 1854 -2nd St. N.W. 9/22/64 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Names:
Freemasons  Search this
Beacham, Raymond T.  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 72
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Portraits
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1964
Scope and Contents:
Job Number: 105
Ink on negative: "105 MR. RAYMOND T. BEACHAM 2-5X7 REG. + 1-5X7 REG.". Portrait of Mr. Raymond T. Beacham in top hat, tuxedo, and Masonic apron, holding a gavel. "105 Mr Raymond T. Beacham extra negative Reserve" on original envelope. No edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Costume  Search this
Evening dress  Search this
top hats  Search this
Genre/Form:
Portraits -- African American men
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81a7752b0-c88d-4480-99bf-af22bbfcc7c7
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref2347
Online Media:

Mr. Raymond T. Beacham 1854 -2nd St. N.W. 9/22/64 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Names:
Freemasons  Search this
Beacham, Raymond T.  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 72
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Portraits
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1964
Scope and Contents:
Job Number: 105
Half-length portrait of subject wearing top hat, tuxedo, Masonic apron and collar, holding gavel. Ink on negative: "105". Portrait: "Mr. Raymond T. Beacham extra negatives Reserve" on original envelope. No edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
top hats  Search this
Evening dress  Search this
Costume  Search this
Genre/Form:
Portraits -- African American men
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8c7d25c3b-180b-42af-9754-da1cd62e6057
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref2350
Online Media:

[Thomas Kerr at piano : black-and-white photonegative.]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Names:
Howard University. School of Music  Search this
Kerr, Thomas  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 75
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Scope and Contents:
Probably Thomas Kerr sitting at a piano, one hand playing and the other writing music. The subject was previously identifiied incorrectly as Dean Warner Lawson. Margo Dean Pinson wrote on Jan. 7, 2008 to say the subject is not Warner Lawson and believed it to be Thomas Kerr, music director at Plymouth Congregational Church. Cf. AC0618.004.0000260.tif. Dr. Eugene Thamon Simpson emailed the Archives Center July 22, 2014, to identify the subject as Thomas Kerr. "Agfa Safety Film" edge imprint. No ink on negative. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
African American musicians  Search this
Piano  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep83b91264a-dee9-4002-85bd-d688a65586df
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref2462
Online Media:

Bus[iness] League Dinner [District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce 37th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner, ca. 1970-1979 : cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Names:
Capitol School of Photography  Search this
District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce  Search this
Ali, Muhammad, 1942-2016  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 2.5" x 6".)
Container:
Box 96
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
Ca. 1970-1979
Scope and Contents:
Two images on a film strip. Ink on negative: "3 4" and "Muhamed [sic] Ali, Cap Sch Photogs, Walter Wash[ington], Marian [sic] Barry & Others". "KODAK SAFETY FILM" and "17A 21 22 18A" edge imprint.
First image: Group of four photographers with equipment.
Second image: Muhammad Ali signing an autograph, surrounded by a group of men and women.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
African American boxers  Search this
Boxers  Search this
Dinners and dining  Search this
Award presentations  Search this
Photographers  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1970-1980 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81d4d9585-b296-4fff-9648-83fc6607c096
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3013
Online Media:

Civil Disturbances '68 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film strip, 1.5" x 6".)
Container:
Box 96
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1968
Scope and Contents:
This negative is one of four on a 35mm film strip. The group is numbered AC0618.004.0000207 - AC0618.004.0000210.
Firefighters spraying building (out of frame) while standing on fire truck. No ink on negative. "Tri X Pan Film Kodak Safety Film" and "- 18A - 19 - 19A - 20 - 20A - 21 - 21A - 22" edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Fire engines  Search this
Fire fighters  Search this
Riots  Search this
Streets -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8848df2c9-1977-4c33-b044-82d3c0edde1f
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3043
Online Media:

Civil Disturbances '68 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film strip, 1.5" x 6".)
Container:
Box 96
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Date:
1968
Scope and Contents:
This negative is one of four negatives on a 35mm film strip.The group is numbered AC0618.004.0000207 to AC0618.004.0000210.
A girl and a man standing in a brick building's doorway. No ink on negative. "Tri X Pan Film Kodak Safety Film" and "- 18A - 19 - 19A - 20 - 20A - 21 - 21A - 22" edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Riots  Search this
Streets -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep81f12e809-11b2-4872-824c-ae3497d5740c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3045
Online Media:

Civil Disturbances '68 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film strip, 1.5" x 6".)
Container:
Box 96
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington, D. C. -- History
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
U Street, N.W. (Washington, D.C.)
Date:
1968
Scope and Contents:
One of four negatives on a 35mm film strip. The group is numbered AC0618.004.0000207-AC0618.004.0000210.
The entrance to Scurlock Studios with a sign in the door reading "Soul brother all the way." No ink on negative. "Tri X Pan Film Kodak Safety Film" and "- 18A - 19 - 19A - 20 - 20A - 21 - 21A - 22" edge imprint. No Scurlock number.
Exhibitions Note:
Image reproduced in companion book to the following exhibit: "The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise," NMAAHC Gallery, NMAH, January 30-November 15, 2009.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Photographers  Search this
Riots  Search this
Doorways  Search this
Doors  Search this
Photography -- Studios and darkrooms -- 20th century  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep831d115dd-5256-4905-aef4-294c250bb11c
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3047
Online Media:

Winston Childs, Views of Aspen Court Apartments, April 22, 1964 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Ansco (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 4" x 5")
Container:
Box 110
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1960-1970 -- Photographs
Date:
April 22, 1964
Scope and Contents:
Four brick apartment blocks with three stories and a basement level. There are cars parked along the street in front. There is an unreadable road sign on a lamppost. No ink on negative. Ink on envelope: caption. "ANSCO -- SAFETY -- FILM" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Apartments  Search this
Streets -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Automobiles -- 1960-1970  Search this
Buildings -- Washington (D.C) -- 1960-1970.  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep82e2809b6-2c98-4025-8ff7-590df307cc87
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3637
Online Media:

Winston Childs, Views of Aspen Court Apartments, April 22, 1964 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Ansco (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 4" x 5")
Container:
Box 110
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1960-1970 -- Photographs
Date:
April 22, 1964
Scope and Contents:
Street corner with six brick apartment blocks with three stories and a basement level. There are cars parked along the street in front. There is a vacancy sign on the side of one of the apartment blocks. No ink on negative. Ink on envelope: caption. "ANSCO -- SAFETY -- FILM" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Apartments  Search this
Streets -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Automobiles -- 1960-1970  Search this
Buildings -- Washington (D.C) -- 1960-1970.  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep812d394d1-cfd5-4443-a032-f205766555c3
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3639
Online Media:

Winston Childs, Views of Aspen Court Apartments, April 22, 1964 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Ansco (film manufacturer)  Search this
Names:
Aspen Court Investment Co.  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 4" x 5")
Container:
Box 110
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1960-1970 -- Photographs
Date:
April 22, 1964
Scope and Contents:
Group of brick apartment blocks with three stories and a basement level in a U-shape around a central pathway. There is a sign on both sides of the entrance to the pathway which reads, "Aspen Court Apartments Management by Aspen Court Investment Co. L1. 3 . 64 / 2 Resident Manager 6656 Apt. 103". There is a television aerial on the roof. No ink on negative. Ink on envelope: caption. "ANSCO -- SAFETY -- FILM" edge imprint.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Apartments  Search this
Television -- Receivers and reception  Search this
Buildings -- Washington (D.C) -- 1960-1970.  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep83616fde9-a9d9-44c5-b29a-e833511df0a2
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3641
Online Media:

Mrs. Lois Tinner luncheon party, Dec[ember] 22, 1963 [cellulose acetate photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Creator:
Eastman Kodak Company (film manufacturer)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Silver gelatin on cellulose acetate film sheet., 4" x 5".)
Container:
Box 110
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Place:
Washington (D.C.) -- African Americans
Washington (D.C.) -- 1960-1970 -- Photographs
Date:
December 22, 1963
Scope and Contents:
Group of men and women seated and standing around a dining table. The table is laid with a stack of plates, cutlery, napkins and plates of food, including a cabbage studded with food on cocktail sticks. There is a hutch behind them containing glasses, coffee pots and figurines, a large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and two matching candlesticks on the table. Ink on negative: "Mrs. Guy Tinner 3 - 8x10". Ink on envelope: caption and "12/31/63 3 - 8x10". "KODAK - SAFETY -- FILM" edge imprint. Retouching on faces and hair with New Coccine.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Dining  Search this
Dining rooms  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1960-1970 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep882e6924e-af7f-4015-9c43-56c0a4472d3a
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref3665
Online Media:

19th Street Baptist Church choir [acetate film photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 22
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1948
Scope and Contents:
Choir is seated in three rows. Ink on negative: "***19th St. Baptist Church Choir, 1948*** Scurlock / Photo."
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Choirs -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
African American churches -- 1940-1950  Search this
African Americans -- Religion -- 1940-1950 -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Portraits, Group -- 1940-1950  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Photographs -- 1940-1950 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8f9f08d22-fd98-435b-9b3e-f704a2f146ab
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref402
Online Media:

Mu-So-Lit. Club Auxiliary [acetate film photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Names:
Mu-So-Lit Club  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 22
Type:
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1948
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Clubs -- African Americans -- Washington (D.C.).  Search this
Associations, institutions, etc.  Search this
African Americans -- 1930-1940  Search this
Portraits, Group -- 1930-1940 -- Washington (D.C.).  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- 1930-1940 -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8e30968bd-7b9e-43af-bb27-d577cfb8f8ea
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref416
Online Media:

F.D. Patterson [studio portrait, bust : acetate film photonegative]

Photographer:
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Names:
Patterson, F.D., Dr.  Search this
Subseries Creator:
Scurlock Studio (Washington, D.C.)  Search this
Scurlock, Robert S. (Saunders), 1917-1994  Search this
Custom Craft  Search this
Scurlock, Addison N., 1883-1964  Search this
Scurlock, George H. (Hardison), 1919-2005  Search this
Extent:
1 Item
Container:
Box 2
Culture:
African Americans -- Washington (D.C.)  Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Portraits
Studio portraits
Photographs
Scope and Contents:
No. 22 on original envelope. No ink on negative edge. No manufacturer's mark on film edge.
General:
From negative Box A.
Subseries Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.

Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view negatives due to cold storage. Using negatives requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Subseries Rights:
When the Museum purchased the collection from the Estate of Robert S. Scurlock, it obtained all rights, including copyright. The earliest photographs in the collection are in the public domain because their term of copyright has expired. The Archives Center will control copyright and the use of the collection for reproduction purposes, which will be handled in accordance with its standard reproduction policy guidelines. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Genre/Form:
Portraits -- African American men
Studio portraits
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Acetate film
Subseries Citation:
Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Smithsonian Institution
See more items in:
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives
Scurlock Studio Records, Subseries 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin Negatives / 4.1: Black-and-White Silver Gelatin negatives
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep809ed6f77-ce4a-4641-864e-698f283dc6f8
EDAN-URL:
ead_component:sova-nmah-ac-0618-s04-01-ref85
Online Media:

Joseph Cornell papers

Creator:
Cornell, Joseph  Search this
Names:
Benton, Elizabeth Cornell  Search this
Cornell, Robert  Search this
Extent:
24.9 Linear feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1804-1986
bulk 1939-1972
Summary:
The papers of Joseph Cornell (1903-1972) measure approximately 24.9 linear feet and date from 1804 to 1986 with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1972. The collection documents the life, work, interests, and creative activities of the self-taught artist, who was best known for his shadow box constructions, assemblages, and collages. Papers include correspondence, diaries, source material, notes, writings, photographs, printed material, two- and three-dimensional ephemera, art works, and books, as well as a limited amount of legal and financial records, and some miscellaneous personal and family papers. The collection also includes the papers of his sister, Betty Cornell Benton, relating to the handling of Cornell's estate and the personal papers of his brother, Robert Cornell.
Scope and Content Note:
The Joseph Cornell papers measure approximately 24.9 linear feet and date from 1804 to 1986, with the bulk of the material dating from 1939-1972. The collection documents the life, work, interests, and creative activities of the self-taught artist, who was best known for his shadow box constructions, assemblages, and collages. Papers include correspondence, diaries, source material, notes, writings, photographs, printed material, two- and three-dimensional ephemera, art works, and books, as well as a limited amount of legal and financial records, and some miscellaneous personal and family papers (which comprise a series of biographical material). The collection also includes the papers of his sister, Betty Cornell Benton, relating to the handling of Cornell's estate and the personal papers of his brother, Robert Cornell.

Cornell's correspondence is typically with family, friends, artists, dealers, collectors, galleries, museums, admirers, individuals whom he admired, "helpers," and various charitable institutions. Correspondence generally concerns the creation, exhibition, sale, and reception of Cornell's art work; his "explorations" and other research and collecting activities; his preoccupations with certain individuals and motifs; his usual practices of giving gifts of art work to those he liked or admired and making donations to charities in aid of those less fortunate; and his relationships and shared interests with family, friends, and colleagues. Also found is correspondence between and amongst various other members of the Cornell family, including, most notably, Robert Cornell's letters to his sisters, Elizabeth (typically addressed as Nell) and Helen.

Dating from 1941 to 1972, Cornell's diaries span almost the entirety of his career as an artist, which began in earnest when he left his job at the Traphagen textile studio in 1940 to pursue art full-time and ended with his death in 1972. The diaries record his day-to-day experiences (usually comprising his thoughts, feelings, impressions, and ideas); and reflect on his various art projects (boxes, films, and collages) and creative activities ("explorations," and various other research, collecting, and publishing ventures). They also explore many of the themes and underlying concerns of his art work; and document his intense preoccupations with certain individuals, his wide-ranging interests, and the interconnectedness of his ideas and activities. Cornell's style of writing in the diaries tends to be stream-of-conscious with entries being composed of phrases, rather than complete sentences and with the progression of passages being more poetic and associative than either logical or narrative. He tended to compose by hand, occasionally typing up his notes into more formal entries, and also to use abbreviations for oft-repeated words and initials for individuals. At times, his handwriting can be difficult to read, and his references can be difficult to decipher. It was also common practice for him to review or revisit previous entries at various points in time, often making revisions or comments on them with dated annotations in the margins or on the reverse side of a page.

Cornell's source material is largely comprised of files of newspaper and magazine clippings, cutouts, notes, writings, book excerpts, photostats (or stats), prints, postcards, art reproductions, and other printed material. Some files are devoted to people (ballerinas, actresses, singers, artists, and writers) and topics (astronomy, romantic and modern ballet, birds, films, literature, music, plants, and science, among others). Other files relate to specific art works, "explorations," publishing projects, and exhibitions. Source material documents Cornell's preoccupation with certain individuals (past and present), events, subjects, and motifs; the development of some of his major "explorations" and their influence on his various artistic and commercial projects; and his work on certain box constructions and collages, publishing ventures, and exhibition catalogues. Source material also sheds light on Cornell's efforts to gain access to the past; his interest in the symbolism of images and objects; the linkages he found between seemingly unrelated things; and the connections between his many creative endeavors.

Ephemera and artifacts include various objects, mementos, and items of memorabilia, some of which were accumulated by Cornell (in much the same way that he collected his source material) and some of which are of uncertain origin. For Cornell, items such as these were not merely inanimate objects, but were instead evocative of past worlds and capable of bringing the past into the present (an idea which he often expressed in his diaries as the "metaphysique d'ephemera"). He seems to have used some of these items in a layout he designed for Good Housekeeping. Other items may have been used as source material for some of his box constructions.

The collection also houses photographs of Cornell, his family, art work, other artists, and friends, as well as photographs taken by various individuals and publicity photographs from the New York City Ballet. Also found are scattered works of art, including collage fragments and Rorschachs (or ink blot drawings) by Cornell, collages by Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton, on which he collaborated, and a box by Christine Kaufman, which was a gift to Cornell. The books in the collection most likely comprise the remainder of Cornell's library, which was transferred to the Joseph Cornell Study Center, and include some that seem to have belonged to his sister, Betty. Printed material includes various publications and clippings collected by Cornell apart from that which he collected as source material. Writings about Cornell include an article by the poet, Mina Loy, and copies of various theses, presentations, and articles by graduate students in art history received by Benton (who assisted them in their research).

The Joseph Cornell Estate Papers consist of correspondence relating to Betty Cornell Benton's administration of the part of Cornell's estate for which she was responsible and legal documents relating to her various legal disputes with the executors of the estate, as well as a limited amount of printed material, some of which was originally accumulated by Cornell and subsequently shared with Benton, and miscellaneous papers belonging to Benton and their mother, Helen S. Cornell. Estate Papers provide insight on the exhibition and sale of Cornell art works after his death; the disposition of his belongings (including art work, papers, books, records, and source material); and Benton's efforts to foster and safeguard the memory and legacy of Cornell. The Robert Cornell Papers include correspondence, writings, art works, photographs, printed material, and scattered financial and personal records, documenting the full and creative life Robert led despite being confined to a wheelchair. Their inclusion in the collection suggests the family's effort to foster Robert's memory.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into eleven series:

Missing Title

Series 1: Biographical Material, 1918-1972, 1975 (Box 1; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 2: Correspondence, 1909-1982 (Boxes 1-5, OV 31; 4.3 linear feet)

Series 3: Diaries, 1941-1973 (Boxes 6-10; 5 linear feet)

Series 4: Source Material, 1804-1972 (Boxes 11-18, 25-28, OV 29; 8.5 linear feet)

Series 5: Ephemera and Artifacts, 1858-1946 (Boxes 18, 23; 0.8 linear feet)

Series 6: Photographs, circa 1905-1972 (Boxes 18, 28, OV 30; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 7: Art Works, circa 1966-1971 (Boxes 19, 23; 0.2 linear feet)

Series 8: Books and Printed Material, 1806-1968 (Boxes 19, 23; 0.5 linear feet)

Series 9: Writings about Cornell, 1950, circa 1975-1980 (Box 19; 0.3 linear feet)

Series 10: Joseph Cornell Estate Papers, circa 1911, 1944-1986 (Boxes 19-22; 3.5 linear feet)

Series 11: Robert Cornell Papers, 1924-1965 (Boxes 24, 28; 0.4 linear feet)
Biographical Note:
Joseph Cornell, assemblagist, collagist, and filmmaker, was born on December 24, 1903 in Nyack, New York. He was the oldest son of Joseph I. Cornell, a textile salesman and designer, and Helen Storms Cornell, and had two younger sisters, Elizabeth (b. 1905), nicknamed Nell and later Betty, and Helen (b. 1906), and a younger brother, Robert (b. 1910), who suffered from cerebral palsy. Cornell shared close relationships with his siblings, and was especially attached to his brother whom he took care of as an adult. His fondest childhood memories included family Christmas celebrations, outings to Manhattan where he saw vaudeville shows and strolled around Times Square, and trips to Coney Island where he encountered penny arcade machines. These childhood memories, among others, inspired some of the themes later explored in his art work.

After his father's death in 1917, Cornell was sent to study at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He remained there for four years, but left without receiving a diploma. During this time, the family moved from Nyack to Bayside, Queens, where they lived in a series of rented houses. Cornell rejoined his family in 1921, at which time he went to work as a salesman in the Manhattan office of a textile wholesaler, the William Whitman Company. He joined the Christian Science church in the mid-1920s, and in 1929, the family bought a house at 37-08 Utopia Parkway in Flushing, where he resided for the rest of his life, living there with his mother and brother after both his sisters married and moved away.

During the 1920s, Cornell developed his passion for walking the city streets and taking in their sights, sounds, and impressions; browsing in the secondhand bookshops along Fourth Avenue; and collecting material such as books, prints, postcards, and printed and three-dimensional ephemera. He cultivated his growing interest in culture and the arts by attending opera and ballet performances, seeing plays (the 1922 play Rain, which starred Jeanne Eagels, was among his favorites), visiting galleries and museums, reading, and going to the movies.

In 1931, Cornell began to frequent the Julien Levy Gallery, where he encountered Surrealist art for perhaps the first time. Around this time, he created his first works of art - a series of black-and-white collages composed from cutouts of nineteenth-century engravings - inspired by Max Ernst's collages, in particular his collage-novel, La Femme 100 tetes (1929). Cornell went on to create three-dimensional works of art such as pill boxes and a glass bell series (consisting of objects arranged under a bell jar). His work, including several collages and a glass bell, was first exhibited as part of the groundbreaking "Surrealisme" show at the Levy Gallery in January 1932. He also designed the cover of the show announcement. His first one-man show at the gallery, "The Objects of Joseph Cornell," followed in the fall of 1932. (It was seven years before his next solo show.) By this time, Cornell had been laid off from his job at Whitman's. He was out of work for several years before getting a job as a textile designer at the Traphagen Commercial Textile Studio in 1934. During the next several years, he continued to work on his art at night.

Around this time, Cornell began collecting movies and movie stills, and embarked upon various film-related projects. In 1933, he wrote a scenario for a silent movie, Monsieur Phot. A few years later, he made his first film, Rose Hobart (1936), comprised of re-edited footage from the B-movie, East of Borneo (1931), which starred the actress, Rose Hobart. And he began work on a trilogy of collage-films - The Children's Party, Cotillion, and The Midnight Party (circa 1937). He then took a break from making films until the mid-1950s, but continued to collect film-related material, which he began to incorporate into his other art work.

In 1936, Cornell constructed his first glass-fronted shadow box, Untitled (Soap Bubble Set), which was included that same year in the "Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism" exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, along with a cabinet box and several glass bells. In creating some of his other early boxes, he began the practice of using photo reproductions of images which he located in books and magazines, or in the Picture Collection at the New York Public Library, among other places. In his tribute boxes to actresses (1930s), he made use of publicity shots, and in the box, Dressing Room for Gilles (1939), he employed a photostat (or stat) of a reproduction of Jean-Antoine Watteau's painting, Gilles (1718).

Over the years, Cornell came into contact with various figures of the art, dance, and literary worlds. In the 1930s and 1940s, he met the artists, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, and Salvador Dali, and befriended the artists, Lee Miller and Dorothea Tanning. His formative friendships during 1940s were with the artist, Pavel Tchelitchew, the writers, Charles Henri Ford (founder of the avant-garde periodical, View), Parker Tyler, and Donald Windham, and the balletomane, Lincoln Kirstein (founder of Dance Index). His other friends included the artists, Roberto Matta Echaurren and Robert Motherwell, the dancer and actress, Tilly Losch, and the poets, Mina Loy and Marianne Moore. In the 1950s, he associated with artists from the Abstract Expressionist movement, including Willem de Kooning, Jack Tworkov, and Mark Rothko. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he befriended many young artists, including Lee Bontecou and Carolee Schneeman, and young actresses, including Lois Smith, Gwen Van Dam, and Suzanne Miller, whom he sought to appear in his films. And in the early 1960s, he met the Pop artists, Robert Indiana, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol.

Beginning in 1940, Cornell developed a keen interest in dance, particularly ballet. Ballerinas from the Romantic era, such as Marie Taglioni and Fanny Cerrito, especially captured his imagination, inspiring such works as the box, Taglioni's Jewel Casket (1940), and the Portrait of Ondine "exploration," which comprised a portfolio of material relating to Cerrito and her famous role in the ballet, Ondine. Cornell was also fascinated with the modern counterparts of the Romantic ballerinas. In 1940, he befriended the Russian ballet dancer, Tamara Toumanova, and over the years produced many works in homage to her, including swan boxes (inspired by her role in Swan Lake), boxes made with scraps from her costumes, and scrapbooks of clippings, stats, and memorabilia. In 1949, he became enamored of the French dancer, Renee "Zizi" Jeanmarie, after seeing her perform in Carmen and meeting her backstage, and he created several dance-related boxes in her honor. In 1957, he met the ballerina, Allegra Kent. After meeting again in 1964, they became friends, and she served as the subject of several works based on images reproduced from a Parmigianino painting.

In December 1940, Cornell left his job at the Traphagen textile studio to pursue art full-time. He set up a workshop in the basement of the house on Utopia Parkway, which served as a combination studio and storage space. While he spent most days at home, he continued to make regular trips into Manhattan to wander around the city, visit with friends, and hunt for material. Around this time, he began to keep a diary, recording his day-to-day experiences (usually comprising his thoughts, feelings, impressions, ideas) on scraps of paper (including used envelopes, paper bags, napkins, and ticket stubs, among other fragments). He would then type up some of these notes into more formal diary entries, but most of them remained, in his word, "scribblings." Diary keeping eventually became one of his primary activities, along with box construction, collage, research, and collecting.

By this time, his art work was beginning to sell, yet he was not able to live from these sales alone. During the 1940s, he primarily supported himself by doing freelance work for magazines such as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Good Housekeeping, supplying illustrations from his picture collection and designing covers and layouts. He also regularly contributed pieces to View and Dance Index. His notable contributions to View included "Enchanted Wanderer: Excerpt from a Journey Album for Hedy Lamarr" (December 1941), "Story Without a Name - for Max Ernst" (April 1942), and "The Crystal Cage [portrait of Berenice]" (January 1943). His projects for Dance Index included various collage-covers, essays, and thematic issues, such as the Summer 1944 issue, which comprised a 22-page tribute to the Romantic ballerinas, Taglioni, Carlotta Grisi, Cerrito, and Fanny Elssler. To supplement his income, Cornell also held brief positions at an electronics plant, the Allied Control Company, Inc. (in 1943), and at a nursery, the Garden Centre (in 1944).

In 1942, Cornell created one of his more memorable works, Medici Slot Machine, embarking upon a large series of Medici boxes in which he utilized reproductions of portraits by Italian Renaissance artists, such as Sofonisba Anguissola and Pinturicchio. His other boxes from this time period explored themes ranging from ballet, as in A Pantry Ballet (for Jacques Offenbach) (1942), to doomed love, as in Paolo and Francesca (1943-48), to nature, as in the Sand Boxes (1940s) and Sand Fountains (1950s). Cornell often created boxes in series, producing variations on a theme with variants that differed significantly or only slightly. Over the years, series included: Pink Palaces, Pharmacies, Habitats, Aviaries, Dovecotes, Hotels, Observatories, and Night Skies, among others.

In late 1945, Cornell joined the Hugo Gallery, which was run by Alexander Iolas, and a year later mounted the show, "Romantic Museum at the Hugo Gallery: Portraits of Women by Joseph Cornell" (December 1946). He designed the exhibition catalog for this show, which consisted of portraits - box constructions, objects, and "dossiers" - of the opera singers, Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran, the ballerinas, Taglioni and Cerrito, and the actresses, Eleanora Duse, Jeanne Eagels, Greta Garbo, and Jennifer Jones, and which also featured one of his most famous boxes, Untitled (Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall) (1945-46).

In 1949, Cornell joined the Egan Gallery, which was run by Charles Egan. Around this time, he began creating his series of Aviary boxes, which explored the symbolism of birds and birdcages. He showed twenty-six of these box constructions in his first exhibition at the Egan Gallery, "Aviary by Joseph Cornell" (December 1949-January 1950). He created other series of whitewashed boxes, including the Dovecote series and a small group relating to the poet, Emily Dickinson. He then went on to explore the themes of astronomy and celestial navigation in the Observatory, Night Skies, and Hotel series. Works from these series were featured in his two remaining shows at the Egan Gallery, "Night Songs and Other Work" (December 1950-January 1951) and "Night Voyage" (February-March 1953). In the fall of 1953, sparked by seeing the painting, Figure Seated in a Cafe (1914), Cornell embarked upon a major series of bird constructions dedicated to the Cubist artist, Juan Gris. Notably, these were the only boxes he explicitly dedicated to another artist.

Over the next couple of years, Cornell's work was exhibited across the country. In 1955, he joined the Stable Gallery, which was run by Eleanor Ward. His first one-man show there, in the winter of 1955-56, was "Winter Night Skies," which featured various box constructions based on constellations. During the mid-1950s, he embarked upon a series of Sand Fountains (vertical standing boxes featuring a broken glass and sand that flowed through it when turned upside down), elaborating upon his earlier Sand Boxes (1940s). These boxes along with some of his other latest works, including the Bleriot boxes and the Space Object boxes (which comprised his final box series), were exhibited in his second and last show at the Stable Gallery, "Selected Works" (December 1957).

After leaving the Stable Gallery, Cornell had several dealers handle his work rather than allowing any one to assume too much control. Dealers included Richard Feigen (in Chicago and then in New York) and Irving Blum (in California), among others. Throughout his career, Cornell never liked selling his boxes. He was always reluctant to let his work go and became increasingly uneasy about the growing status of his work as a commodity. He preferred instead to make gifts of his art work to friends and individuals he admired (especially female ones).

In the mid-1950s, Cornell returned to making films. Rather than just splicing together found images as he had in his films of the 1930s, he began to collaborate with others to shoot original footage. He worked with the experimental filmmaker, Stan Brakhage, on two films, one about the Third Ave El which was about to be torn down ( Wonder Ring or Gnir Rednow) and the other about an old house in Cornell's neighborhood that was slated for demolition ( Centuries of June). Cornell then went on to make nine films with the filmmaker, Rudy Burckhardt, including Aviary, A Legend for Fountains, and Nymphlight, among others. In the late 1960s, he enlisted the help of Larry Jordan, who was also a filmmaker, in completing the trilogy of collage-films that he had begun in the 1930s.

Along with creating works of art and making films, Cornell was involved in a host of other creative endeavors throughout his career as an artist. These included: keeping a diary, which was for him another medium for exploring and expressing the themes, ideas, and concerns recurrent in his art work; carrying out "explorations," which typically involved conducting research, collecting material, and compiling files on persons or topics of interest to him; and other projects, such as publishing pamphlets (or brochures) dedicated to the nineteenth-century opera singers, Malibran and Giulia Grisi. Cornell's "explorations" clearly informed his artwork, but they were also works of art in and of themselves. He continually sought to share this work with an audience and twice had the opportunity to do so, when he exhibited versions of his Portrait of Ondine "exploration" at the Museum of Modern Art in 1945 and at the Wittenborn Bookstore in 1956.

Around the mid-1950s, Cornell returned to making collages as independent works of art. Unlike his earlier ones, which were composed from cutouts of black-and-white engravings, his latest collages were made with color images cut out of contemporary magazines and books. In these collages, he explored many of the same themes and preoccupations of his box constructions, including birds, as in Couleur de Peche (1967) and Untitled (Vierge Vivace) (1970), children's games, as in the Penny Arcade series (1960s), and actresses, as in The Sister Shades (1956). Towards the end of his career, collage became his principal medium.

By this time, Cornell was taking fewer trips into Manhattan. Instead, he spent more time at home or traveled only so far as downtown Flushing, where he frequented the public library, hunted for material in stores, such as Woolworth's, and passed time in the coffee-shops on Main Street. From this time on, he kept his diary with increasing regularity, taking down notations with more frequency and creating entries of greater length.

In 1961, fourteen of Cornell's boxes, including Medici Slot Machine, were exhibited as part of the "The Art of Assemblage" show at the Museum of Modern Art. As his biographer notes, Cornell came to view this show "as a turning point in his creative life," marking the "[fall] off in his work" that took place in the sixties (Solomon 271-2). He continued to work on boxes that he had begun long before, but, after this time, rarely if ever constructed new ones. Instead, he focused on making collages and became increasingly concerned with other projects, such as organizing his basement workshop, for which he hired various "helpers" or assistants (mostly young women) over the years. He also became more and more prone to obsessions (or preoccupations, as he called them) with various young women that he encountered both in fantasy (actresses on stage or in films) and in real life (working girls in the city, "teeners" on Main Street, or his female visitors and "helpers" at home). These preoccupations infused his diary writings, and inspired the keeping of "dossiers" on particular individuals and the creation of various collages dedicated to others, including most notably the Penny Arcade series dedicated to Joyce Hunter (or "Tina," as he referred to her in his writings).

After Robert's death in February 1965, Cornell created a series of collages in his memory, many of which incorporated his brother's drawings of animal characters. In January 1966, he exhibited some of these collages, alongside a selection of Robert's drawings, in a show at the Robert Schoelkopf Gallery, "Robert Cornell: Memorial Exhibition." In 1967, there were two retrospective exhibitions of Cornell's work, "An Exhibition of Works by Joseph Cornell" at the Pasadena Art Museum and "Joseph Cornell" at the Guggenheim Museum. By now, Cornell was receiving considerable public recognition for his work. He had received his first profile (by Howard Griffin) in the December 1957 issue of Art News and, ten years later, was treated to a 12-page spread (by David Bourdon) in the December 1967 issue of Life magazine. He was also the recipient of various prizes for his art work, including the M.V Kohnstamm Prize at the Art Institute of Chicago's "62nd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture" in 1957 and the winning prize in India's first Triennale of Contemporary World Art in 1968.

In the last years of his life (especially from the time of his mother's death in the fall of 1966), Cornell suffered from severe depression and loneliness, and withdrew even further from the outside world. However, he still maintained relationships with various young friends and artists, who frequently visited Utopia Parkway and/or served as one of his assistants. He became more and more interested in sharing his work with a younger audience and his last two exhibitions in 1972 were expressly for children, "A Joseph Cornell Exhibition for Children" at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture and "Joseph Cornell - Collages and Boxes" at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

Cornell continued to work until the end of his life, "refurbishing" earlier boxes and creating memorial collages. Following prostate surgery in June 1972, he spent several months recuperating with family in Westhampton before returning to Utopia Parkway in November. He died of heart failure at home on December 29, 1972.

The biographical note draws heavily from Deborah Solomon's biography, Utopia Parkway: The Life and Work of Joseph Cornell (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 1997), and Diane Waldman's book, Joseph Cornell: Master of Dreams (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2002).
Related Material:
The Archives holds several collections of different provenance that relate to Joseph Cornell, including the small collections of Allison Delarue (comprised of two letters from Cornell, available on reel 2803), Muriel Streeter Schwartz (comprised of two letters from Cornell, available on reel 4283), Wayne Andrews (comprised of letters from Cornell and printed material), and Marion Netter (comprised of items received from Cornell). In addition, photographs of Cornell can be found amongst the Hans Namuth photographs and papers. Also found within the Archives is a transcribed interview of Cornell's sister, Elizabeth Cornell Benton, conducted on April 21, 1976 as part of the oral history program.
Separated Material:
The bulk of Cornell's source material resides in the Joseph Cornell Study Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum, along with his library and record collection. Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton, donated a portion of this material directly to SAAM (then known as the National Museum of American Art), occasioning the creation of the Study Center circa 1978. The bulk of the source material and library that she donated to AAA, including approximately 66 linear feet of three-dimensional and non-textual source material and 50 linear feet of books, was transferred to the Study Center in 1994 and 1995.

Originals of loaned material returned to the donor after microfilming include: some unidentified and miscellaneous correspondence; significant correspondence between Joseph Cornell and Helen S. Cornell; significant correspondence between Helen S. Cornell, family members and others; and some of Joseph Cornell's family correspondence and general correspondence from the Robert Cornell papers. The loaned material is available on microfilm reels 1055-1058 but is not described further in the Series Descriptions/Container Listing of this finding aid.
Provenance:
The Joseph Cornell papers were donated and microfilmed in several installments from 1974 to 1989 by Joseph Cornell's sister, Betty Cornell Benton. Most, but not all, of the correspondence, which was loaned for microfilming in 1974, was subsequently donated in 1989. Additional material was donated in 2004 by the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation.
Restrictions:
Use of the original papers requires an appointment.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Topic:
Celebrities  Search this
Assemblage (Art)  Search this
Found objects (Art)  Search this
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States  Search this
Assemblage artists -- New York (State) -- New York  Search this
Works of art  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Citation:
Joseph Cornell papers, 1804-1986, bulk 1939-1972. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
AAA.cornjose
See more items in:
Joseph Cornell papers
Archival Repository:
Archives of American Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw9ff67e8a6-6a88-40f0-9df4-537c9826eed7
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-aaa-cornjose

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